France honors Speaker JDV with National Legion of Honor

PARIS – In the elegant dining hall of the French Ministry of Industry and a spectacular view of the Seine, the French government gave Speaker Jose de Venecia the Legion of Honor, the highest award given to a civilian. The award was presented on behalf of President Chirac by Francois Loos. The ceremonies were witnessed by French officials in industry as well as business leaders of France and the Philippines. Among the guests were M. Christophe Beaux, Directeur du cabinet CAB, M. Raphael Schoentgen, Conseiller tecnich CAB, Mme. Elizabeth Vital-Durande, Attache Parlementaire CAB, Rep. Juan Zubiri, Rep. Janette Garin, Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Rolex Suplico, Rep. Monico Fuentebella, Ambassador Alberto Pedrosa, Louis Paul Heussaff, President Council of External Trade Manila, Vicente Zaragoza, Pentium group, and Ambassador Hector Villaroel. French businessmen were M. Gilles Cornic, Directeur commercial BCEOM; M Michel Cornil, President Systra; M. Claude Dreano, President Director General Armor Inox, Sen. M. Jean Faure.

Loos who recently visited Manila has been promoted to Minister of Industry under the new government after the debacle of the last EU referendum. Someone quipped the luck for Loos did not really come from the referendum but from his visit to Manila. Joking aside, Loos said the French government, in giving Speaker JDV the award would recognize his untiring efforts for the peaceful resolution of conflicts whether in his own country and elsewhere in the world. He praised the Speaker's laudable advocacy for interfaith dialogue and the consolidation of Asian political parties which are keenly watched around the world as a nascent Asian Union.

The award was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 and considered one of the most prestigious French awards. The order is given to men and women, whether French citizens or foreigners, for outstanding achievements in military or civil life.

There is an interesting anecdote about the award. When Napoleon was criticized for the award, he replied, On appelle ça des hochets, je sais, on l’a dit déjà. Et bien, j’ai répondu que c’est avec des hochets que l’on mène les hommes. "These are called trinkets, I know, it has already been said. Well, I answered that it’s with trinkets that you lead people." The President of France is the Grand Master of the Order and appoints all other members of the Order by convention, on the advice of the Government. Unlike British orders, the Legion of Honor has no Sovereign. Its principal officers are the Chancellor and Secretary-General.

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Earlier on the day, Speaker JDV and his group met with Mr. Jean Pieere Jouyet, president of Paris Club. This meeting gave the Speaker and Filipinos with him the chance to present his proposal for debt relief for equity. The proposal has been enthusiastically received here and described as innovative. Jouyet said a committee will be immediately formed to study the matter closely. The proposals do not concern only the Philippines and its creditors but may be the way out of the debt and aid impasse that has hobbled the world economy. The proposal for debt relief was unanimously approved by the member countries of the Asian Political Parties Conference. To be more specific JDV gave as an example a country, say, Indonesia owes $100 million. If it is offered a debt relief for $50 million, the debtor country would now own $50 million or half of the housing development project of the country. That would be workable in the sense that the debt is not forgiven but merely becomes a source of income for creditors in another form while helping the debtor to push its economy forward. The idea has now caught fire and I understand from the Speaker that he would have another opportunity to expound on the issue when he speaks before the IMF sometime soon.

As JDV told Jouyet, he took the opportunity of meeting with the Paris Club while on this short visit to Paris because it was the proper forum for such a proposal. The Club is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations. It is the Paris Club which works out the rescheduling of debts due to them. By rescheduling debts a country is given relief through a postponement. The Club originated with Ihe first meeting with a debtor country in 1956 when Argentina agreed to meet its public creditors in Paris. Since then, the Paris Club or ad hoc groups of Paris Club creditors have reached 391 agreements with 80 debtor countries.

The Philippine proposal of debt relief for equity put forward by the Speaker fits in nearly with the way the Paris Club conducts its business. It is described as a voluntary gathering of creditor countries willing to treat in a coordinated way the debt due to them by the developing countries. I have no doubt that the JDV proposal will be tabled in the next meetings of the Paris Club after the positive response from Jouyet.

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MISCELLANY. The Philippine delegation was also received by the French Senate at a working breakfast. There are special reasons unique to the French system of government why they have retained a senate. While bills are also debated and discussed in the Senate, the final approval rests only with the House of Deputies which represents the people. That nearly avoids gridlock. Again, what was clear is that constitutional amendments are responses to the problems of the times and the countries concerned. The meeting with the senators was a lively breakfast, Continental style in a room in the Luxembourg Palace which was originally built for Marie de Medici in 1615-1627. Rubens paintings adorn the walls of the large gallery while the library has the masterpieces of Eugene Delacroix. Although it now houses the Senate, it has been used for other purposes many times. It was once used as a prison during the Revolution.

The Speaker was also conferred with honors at the Assemblee Nationales where attended a stormy session. If you think our congressmen and senators sometimes misbehave, you should attend the French sessions and not unlike their British counterparts engage in rowdy behavior in debates and arguments for the public to see. When we visited the assembly a discussion was going on about police behavior.

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